Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

”Dr. Wei?”

”That’s me.” Dr. Wei hurried forward. ”My apologies, my apologies. Our Dr. Yu is a very direct person.”

”He actually holds no ill will toward any of you. His poor communication skills just cause misunderstandings.”

”And you are?”

Gu Chen handed a few photos to Lu Wei to put away, then gave Dr. Wei a faint nod. ”Mr. Wu sent us to pick you all up. Let’s get to the vehicles.”

”Let’s go, let’s go, we’re getting in the car too.” Ji Taixian breathed a sigh of relief and quickly called to the people beside him.

”Take us with you.”

”Yeah, take us with you!”

Some thirty-odd workers swarmed over, their eyes filled with terror. ”Can you give us a ride?”

”You’re from the government, right? Please take us.”

Gu Chen’s face was expressionless. ”We are not.”

Seeing his boss turn and walk away, unwilling to say more, Lu Wei helplessly pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and stepped forward to placate the clamoring workers. ”Sorry, our vehicles can’t fit this many people. The rat tide has receded for now, so you should all leave this place quickly.”

They had traveled light for this trip, bringing one jeep and three modified pickup trucks. It was already a tight squeeze to fit the nearly twenty people in white lab coats.

There was no way they could fit all thirty-plus workers here.

As he spoke, he walked toward the vehicles parked ahead, and the thirty-some workers from the instant noodle factory followed them, wailing, ”Please take us with you.”

”Yeah, aren’t you supposed to serve the people?”

Lu Wei gave a bitter smile. ”Everyone, listen to me. There should be troops in charge of this sort of thing coming later to transfer survivors to the safe zone.”

”So all you need to do is wait patiently.”

”Wait until when?” a female worker in her thirties cried out in terror. ”The factory is a total mess right now, and the company bus is gone! Are you saying we have to walk back to our dorms?”

Lu Wei could only continue explaining patiently to them.

Xie Ning’s head was buzzing. She was completely fed up.

Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head. She whipped her head around, unable to take it anymore. ”All of you, shut up!”

The noise stopped abruptly. Everyone by the vehicles froze.

Wang Zongxuan even saw that idiot Tai Xian’s hand, which was resting on the car door, tremble slightly...

Xie Ning took a deep breath. ”I’m giving you five minutes to find your own vehicles and follow us out of here.”

”You have five minutes. Make them count. Stop standing here blabbering. If you want to live, use your brains.”

”I... I’ll go get my scooter.”

”Wait for me!”

The group of workers, both reluctant and hesitant, quickly scattered to find a means of transport.

Xie Ning swept a cold glance over the two dirt-covered figures, Mo Li and his companion. ”Where are the others?”

Stared at by her, Mo Li couldn’t help but tremble. ”She... Annie and the others said they’d find their own way back. They... they took their supplies and left.”

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow. ”Get in. We’re leaving.”

If they left, they left. Xie Ning couldn’t care less.

The rat swarm had dragged away one of their small cars earlier, and she’d thought they wouldn’t have enough space.

Now that eight people had left, it was perfect.

Xie Ning called for Shijun and her mother to get into one of the smaller cars. The rest, including Xiao Huang Mao, got into the Jinbei van.

It was now empty enough to fit some extra supplies.

”Everyone, get in the cars,” Lu Wei called out to the group of lab-coat-wearing scientists still standing there in a daze.

”Aren’t we waiting for those workers?” a young scientist asked blankly.

Lu Wei was speechless. ’Even an idiot could see it,’ he thought. ’The young lady was just tricking those workers into fending for themselves.’

”Our route is different from theirs. We still have to go to the next mission location. They work locally in Su City, so they should be very familiar with the area. Once they find vehicles, they can leave on their own,” Lu Wei patiently explained with his usual good temper.

”But isn’t that just lying? How could you do that?” Fang Jiawen said, her face full of disapproval. She pointed at the vehicle Xie Ning’s group had already started. ”Hey, hey, they’re just leaving?”

”If you want to wait, you can stay behind,” Gu Chen tossed out before turning to get in the car.

”You... How can you people be like this?” Fang Jiawen was still fuming. This was the man who had ruthlessly struck her Dr. Yu just moments ago.

”You can stay behind with him,” Gu Chen said, leaning out the car window and giving her a cold glance.

”Our mission is to retrieve Dr. Gu and several other doctors. As long as they are safe and sound, the mission for our special operations team is considered a complete success.” The man’s thin lips parted, and the words that came out were as sharp as knives.

”As for everyone else, they can do whatever they want.” Gu Chen’s gaze was chilly as he flipped through the photos in his hand. ”We need to ensure the safety of Dr. Wei, Dr. Li, Dr. Chen, Dr. Huang, and... Dr. Yu.”

”Yes, sir!” The young soldier stood ramrod straight.

Fang Jiawen’s face flushed red.

The man’s meaning was crystal clear. As long as the doctors weren’t dead or injured, the mission was a success. The rest of them—the background characters—had better shut up, lest they get thrown out of the vehicle.

’Who would have thought that this man, who seemed so handsome, elegant, and naturally noble, could be so cold and ruthless at his core?’

”Alright, alright, stop talking. We should listen to the officer’s arrangements.” Dr. Wei rushed over like a firefighter, urging Fang Jiawen and the others to hurry up and get in the car.

Fang Jiawen stomped her foot and furiously climbed into the last pickup truck.

She had originally wanted to squeeze into the second vehicle with Dr. Yu, but a young soldier blocked her, so she had to angrily get into the one behind it.

The first two vehicles had modified cabins, but this one only had a roof canopy, offering no protection from the wind.

As soon as the truck started moving, the wind blew her long, wavy hair into a disheveled mess, making her look like a madwoman.

”Forget it, Jiawen. You’re just a Level 3 specialist. Why are you trying to fight for a seat with the doctors and Level 1 specialists?”

Fang Jiawen silently gnashed her teeth, her mood sour.

In the truck, a young soldier sighed. ”What a shame. There was still a lot of instant noodle stock back in the factory.”

”As long as everyone is okay, we can forget about the supplies.” Lu Wei smiled. ”There was too much commotion here. It’ll probably attract a large number of zombies.”

They had to hurry to the next mission point; it was best to avoid any unnecessary complications.

The young traffic cop, Wu Meng, sitting beside Lu Wei, tentatively raised his hand and smiled. ”It’s alright. I was grabbing stuff as I ran. Snatched about forty or fifty boxes and stored them all.”

”Meng, you’re our lucky star!” The young soldier happily tried to hug him, but Wu Meng quickly slapped his hands away.

”Ningning, will the goods in the factory be okay?” Song You’ai was now also worried. ”Could the rats have chewed on them?”

”They won’t be.” Xie Ning kept her eyes on the road and sped up. ”I checked them when I was collecting them. They were all sealed with tape and hadn’t been opened.”

”Whether it’s the Mouse-men or those zombie rats, they’re probably only interested in living people. Otherwise, why would they lock workers in a cellar as a food reserve?” Xie Ning pursed her lips. ”They likely have no interest in some dry, flashy boxes.”

Song You’ai immediately cheered up. ”Then our haul from this trip is quite substantial!”